The Canucks have about 9 roster players who will be UFAs next summer (barring new rules in the new CBA): Malhotra, Raymond, Burrows, Higgins, Lapierre, Ebbett, Volpati, Edler, Alberts.

Edler is the obvious choice for an extension. But what about the rest? Considering that Raymond, Ebett, and Volpati recently signed one-year deals, they will be wait and see guys who probably won't be re-signed until the end of the year unless they earn a new deal in the first half of the season. It'll be tough letting Raymond go for nothing, but unless Raymodn is turned into a solid 3rd line player, I just don't see him as a good fit.

Burrows is the other big name, but coming off one of the best contracts in the league, he'll want fair value and that means something in the $4M-$5M range. Burrows will be 32, but he's been a consistent goal scorer with the Sedins and knows how to play with Kesler. I think a 4 year deal for under $4.5M a year would be a good deal for the Canucks.

I think Lapierre is another guy Gillis should try to extend because I think another solid regular season and a big playoff year can really drive his price up. Lapierre has been a great fit here and I think making him the one of the highest paid 4th liners wouldn't be such a bad idea with his ability history of big performances in the playoffs. Give him 2-3 years and a raise.

Higgins is a wildcard for me. I don't see him as a player who has a special affinity for Vancouver or the Canucks, but with age he may desire stability. I personally like Higgins and see him as a great fit here with his excellent two-way play and board work; however, I don't see him as a long-term top 6 solution, so ideally, his contract should reflect that of a good 3rd line player and not a good 2nd line player regardless of his role on the team. If he can be extended for 2-3 years at under $2.5M per year I would love to see Gillis extend him soon, if not, I think Higgins can be a guy that can be re-signed at the end of the season, although the chances are Higgins will look for greener pastures by that time.

Malhotra and Alberts to me are wait and see guys. If Malhotra can bounce back and be close to the player he was before his eye injury the Canucks may have a good 3rd line center for another few years. Regardless, I think Malhotra is a guy the Canucks can wait as I don't see re-signing him to be a problem even if the Canucks wait until the end of the season. As for Alberts, I have always liked Alberts and still do. I think he's a good #6 Dman but not so much a #7 Dman. Alberts is big, physical, generally dependable in his limited minutes and doesn't complain about his role. But he's not very good at coming back into the lineup after being out of the lineup and takes a few consecutive games to get going. With some of the young Canucks Dmen coming up through the system, I'm thinking that Alberts won't be re-signed.

Funny, at the very moment you were typing that post, I was responding to your questions about the seven forwards in the Booth thread. To wit:

"Of the seven, I think most folks don't give a flying fuck about Volpatti & Ebbet. And if they do THEY SHOULDN’T. Most prolly figure Raymond & Manny will be gone in one year if not sooner... and most prolly feel the sooner the better. Burrows will be signed (just over $4mil per?). Lappy will be offered something fair ($1.6mil?) - if he says no, let him walk, no biggie. Likewise Higgins (something fair = close to $3mil??)."

Strangelove wrote:Funny, at the very moment you were typing that post, I was responding to your questions about the seven forwards in the Booth thread. To wit:

"Of the seven, I think most folks don't give a flying fuck about Volpatti & Ebbet. And if they do THEY SHOULDN’T. Most prolly figure Raymond & Manny will be gone in one year if not sooner... and most prolly feel the sooner the better. Burrows will be signed (just over $4mil per?). Lappy will be offered something fair ($1.6mil?) - if he says no, let him walk, no biggie. Likewise Higgins (something fair = close to $3mil??)."

As for Edler, I have suggested $5.5mil per on a long-term deal.

Alberts = yet another flying fuck.

you'ld let Yappy walk for more than a buck sixty? he's a character guy Not as in has character but rather is a character, i think we need more of that kind of mojo...however I don't know what would be the right price though.

ukcanuck wrote:you'ld let Yappy walk for more than a buck sixty? he's a character guy Not as in has character but rather is a character, i think we need more of that kind of mojo...however I don't know what would be the right price though.

You got me, personally I'd go higher if he has a great season and won't sign for $1.6 by next summer.

But personally I think he'd sign for that at this point in time.

I hope Gillis is working hard on extending Edler, Burrows, Higgins, and Lappy RIGHT NOW!

Strangelove wrote:Funny, at the very moment you were typing that post, I was responding to your questions about the seven forwards in the Booth thread. To wit:

"Of the seven, I think most folks don't give a flying fuck about Volpatti & Ebbet. And if they do THEY SHOULDN’T. Most prolly figure Raymond & Manny will be gone in one year if not sooner... and most prolly feel the sooner the better. Burrows will be signed (just over $4mil per?). Lappy will be offered something fair ($1.6mil?) - if he says no, let him walk, no biggie. Likewise Higgins (something fair = close to $3mil??)."

As for Edler, I have suggested $5.5mil per on a long-term deal.

Alberts = yet another flying fuck.

I share that sentiment. It really depends on the cap. A few years ago, it would be a questionable move giving a 4th line center $1.6M, but with the way salaries have escalated, I think something under $2M a year for Lappy is okay. The same thing applies to Higgins. If Higgins is going to be a 2nd line fixture on this team, then close to $3M a year is reasonable, but if he's going to be a 3rd line guy who occasionally moves up to the 2nd line, $3M is pretty high but not terrible for a good versatile player like Higgins. Ideally, I see Higgins as a 3rd line fixture with Hansen. With Booth on the roster, and Kassian and Jensen in the organization, I would hope that the a top 6 spot belongs to one or both of them sooner rather than later.

Edit:

Strangelove wrote:I hope Gillis is working hard on extending Edler, Burrows, Higgins, and Lappy RIGHT NOW!

ukcanuck wrote:you'ld let Yappy walk for more than a buck sixty? he's a character guy Not as in has character but rather is a character, i think we need more of that kind of mojo...however I don't know what would be the right price though.

You got me, personally I'd go higher if he has a great season and won't sign for $1.6 by next summer.

But personally I think he'd sign for that at this point in time.

I hope Gillis is working hard on extending Edler, Burrows, Higgins, and Lappy RIGHT NOW!

Those are defo four guys I want long term, so yeah no pissing around and just ink em no bullshit lowball negotiate in public crap thankyou...

On defense, Edler is a no brainer. Alberts is pretty replaceable, I'd rather have a more versatile player at #7 but if this team is still missing the element of size on the blueline then he'd be an acceptable stopgap for another year or maybe two.

As for the forwards, it gets much more interesting as the team is in a position where they should have a small handful of young players getting ready to challenge for key roles on the team over the next few seasons. By 2013-14 without re-signing any forwards we could have a depth chart something like this..

If those players are ready to play then it would behoove management to use them and try to take advantage of the cap savings elsewhere.

I expect some of those cap savings will come from moving on from Manny Malhotra, Mason Raymond too unless he experiences a real resurgence this year. I wouldn't lose any sleep over moving on from Chris Higgins or Max Lapierre either, depending on what the market will bear for those types of players next summer (and how the Canucks chances at replacing them look).. although cutting all four players loose would mean a lot of turnover and would probably require subsequent moves to bolster depth.

Alex Burrows should be a no brainer to re-sign just like Edler, although if he's looking for a very long term deal or a short term deal at the high end of market value (Patrick Sharp, who has scored at a similar pace over the last three years and who is not a superior defensive player to AB, will be paid $19m over the next three years) it would be very tempting to simply walk away. Still, he is a crucial part of the team right now and if there doesn't appear to be a viable alternative I wouldn't mind signing him to a short term deal with a cap hit under $5.5m or a long term deal with a cap hit at or below $4m.

Bottom line, our defense is pretty well set unless we get a shot to acquire or sign a bona fide franchise player to add back there; Alex Edler (and Chris Tanev for that matter) are important to get re-signed and anyone below #6 on the depth chart is pretty well interchangeable.

The forward group is going to depend largely on how the team's young players progress over the next year; ideally the team can play hardball with its upcoming UFAs next summer because they've been fighting for their jobs already - but realistically the Canucks will have to pick and choose based on who they see playing top nine minutes the following season and who is willing to accept less to stay.

The smooth skating, 6’5 center, has soft hands, good vision and a wicked release. He oozes potential, but his impact on games at the AHL level varies dramatically.

The reason for that could be simply that Colborne is a big body who’s used to dominating physically and playing against opponents who are bigger and stronger than him, and it’s taking some time to adjust. But there are also games where he simply looks less engaged and that, wavering intensity level, was a criticism he had in college as well.

Even with his flaws, Colborne is a high-character individual, and is someone willing to put in the work, to improve on his shortcomings.

Future

Colborne is expected to play another season at the AHL level as he continues to mature as a pro player. Expectations are for him to compete for a full-time spot in 2012-2013. He’s likely to see spot duty this season as injuries arise.

The Good: Colborne has very desirable offensive tools for a big man. His speed is pro-average with slight improvement from the previous season in that area. He's a creative player with solid puck skills. I don't see him being a true plus dangler, but he's pretty coordinated with the puck for his size. Colborne has very impression vision; it's easily above average and maybe even high-end and he can really threaten as a playmaker. He's a pass-first player, but when he shoots, he has a plus shot that he can absolutely wire.

The Bad: Colborne had easily one of the weirdest seasons of any drafted prospect this year. In the early months, he was tearing up the AHL like it was nobody's business, and then he fell off dramatically for a large portion of the season. Normally, this production variance can be the cause of statistical randomness, but his play and how he looked to scouts went from an extreme high to an extreme low, which is quite unusual. This may have been because of a wrist injury that he disclosed and had surgery for at the end of the season. His strength level has gotten better but he could still improve on that area. Colborne needs better first-step quickness and could be somewhat better defensively as well.

Colborne.........no thanks. This team needs bigger players but they have to play with some chutzpah. I would be asking for one or both of Carter Ashton or Tyler Biggs if this is a salary dump type of deal. . Even though we need a centre for the short term and the long term, Colborne is of zero interest to me.

I don't buy this as much for the "wait 4 CBA resolution part." Maybe it is something they threw around in case the new CBA really claws back the cap, one of many ideas, but there are too many things that could change between now and then to have any such even close to handshake deal in place...It's a bad deal for the Canucks, Burke would be all over it, also why I doubt Gillis would bit on it.

Blob Mckenzie wrote:Colborne.........no thanks. This team needs bigger players but they have to play with some chutzpah. I would be asking for one or both of Carter Ashton or Tyler Biggs if this is a salary dump type of deal.

Yep. Colborne has too much bust potential for my tastes.

Would anybody be happy with Riemsdyk coming back? The Leafs just traded for him, but considering that Schenn was rumored to have been offered for Luongo...

Back on track... I'm glad Gillis is working on re-signing Burrows. Gillis has a pretty high success rate in re-signing players he really wants to re-sign.